'Where in the world is Thella this week?'

Agency says she is always on the job, but document request turns up limited work product

Marina Bay Sands, Singapore: Airport authority president and CEO Thella F. Bowens spent four nights at the Marina Bay Sands resort at a cost of $569 per night while attending the 7th Airports Council International Asia-Pacific Regional Assembly, Conference & Exhibition in May.

Marina Bay Sands, Singapore: Airport authority president and CEO Thella F. Bowens spent four nights at the Marina Bay Sands resort at a cost of $569 per night while attending the 7th Airports Council International Asia-Pacific Regional Assembly, Conference & Exhibition in May.

Previously

After Lindbergh Field executive Thella Bowens spent nearly three of the first nine months of 2012 traveling outside San Diego on business, the airport defended the trips to Geneva and Calgary and other destinations as necessary to the agency’s viability.

Among the points Chairman Robert Gleason made was that Bowens is always on the job, meeting her demands and obligations. He said he emails her consistently when she travels.

“I’m amazed at the amount of work that Ms. Bowens is able to perform on a daily basis,” Gleason said. “She is never not working.”

Bowens, who is paid salary and benefits worth $365,000 a year and gets 46 paid days off, declined to be interviewed for two previous stories about her travel, and did not respond to questions for this one.

The Watchdog sought to determine how much work Bowens performed on the public’s behalf during one recent journey — a five-day, $9,764 trip to Singapore, where she was a featured speaker at an airline industry conference.

U-T San Diego requested copies of any notes, emails, calendars, presentations, phone calls or other work product generated by Bowens during the trip.

In response to a California Public Records Act request submitted Nov. 20, the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority last week provided about 80 pages of documents for review.

According to the records, Bowens received or sent 31 emails during the week, none of which discussed business leads, Asian air traffic to San Diego or revenue initiatives resulting from the conference.

Most of the emails were brief notes to employees or invitations to future conferences that were forwarded to staff with little or no comment.

“I need to attend this,” Bowens wrote to assistants May 21, six hours after receiving an invitation to an industry round-table and dinner at the “acclaimed Bibiana” restaurant in Washington D.C.

On May 22, Bowens wrote to Matt Harris, senior director in the airport’s executive office: “Can you look at aaae website and tell me if gina marie is on their board or just the policy review comm.”

Gina Marie Lindsey is CEO of Los Angeles World Airports, the agency that oversees Los Angeles International, Ontario and Van Nuys airports for the city of Los Angeles. She serves on the American Association of Airport Executives board of directors.

One email Bowens addressed to her staff is called the Monday Message, a note to employees that updates projects and initiatives at the airport.

“Where in the world is Thella this week?” she wrote May 21. “Singapore and it is 6 am here but I have been up since 4 ... maybe my body clock is just about adjusted for a perfect sleep tonight.”

After reviewing the documents, The Watchdog contacted airport officials to make sure the records accurately reflected all of the work Bowens performed during that week.

“Please be advised that we requested a second search and were informed that all records responsive to your request have been provided,” the clerk responded.

The Watchdog then contacted Gleason to ask his reaction to the documented work Bowens performed for the public during the week she was in Singapore.

He said the documents reflect only one aspect of a difficult job.

“Her job is complex and it is not possible to base her productivity on the number of emails she sends or receives,” the airport board chairman wrote.

“As I’m sure you understand, her effectiveness is judged on a variety of factors, including the overall performance of the Airport Authority and San Diego International Airport and not simply the volume of her work product.”